Harper Cinema Omnibus: Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro; Gangs of Wasseypur; Mother Maiden Mistress

Path-breaking films have phenomenal behind-the-scenes stories. Read about two of the most iconic movies of our times, and combine it with the journey of the woman, as actor and character, in Hindi cinema. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro: In the 1980s, an unheralded Hindi movie, made on a budget of less than Rs 7 lakh, went from a quiet showing at the box office to developing a reputation as India's definitive black comedy. Some of the country's finest theatre and film talents - all at key stages in their careers - participated in its creation, but the journey was anything but smooth. Among other things, it involved bumping off disco killers and talking gorillas, finding air-conditioned rooms for dead rats, persuading a respected actor to stop sulking and eat his meals, and resisting the temptation to introduce logic into a madcap script. In the end, it was worth it. Kundan Shah's Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro is now a byword for the sort of absurdist, satirical humours that Hindi cinema just hasn't seen enough of. This is the story of how it came to be despite incredible odds - and what it might have been. Jai Arjun Singh's take on the making of the film and its cult following is as entertaining as the film itself. Gangs of Wasseypur: Running close to five hours and thirty minutes and boasting of no big stars, Gangs of Wasseypur is unlike any Hindi film you might have watched. It is also one of the most feted Hindi films of recent times in international circles. It has been spoken of as India's answer to landmark gangster films of the west, like The Godfather. In Gangs of Wasseypur: The Making of a Modern Classic, the authors go behind the scenes through its chaotic gestation to bring to life the trials and tribulations, the triumphs and ecstasies involved in following one's dream. Including the complete screenplay, the book is as much a testimony to the spirit of everyone associated with the film as it is a tribute to the intellectual honesty and indefatigable spirit of its director, Anurag Kashyap. Mother Maiden Mistress: It's been a long hundred years since Dadasaheb Phalke had to settle for a man to play the heroine in India's first feature film, Raja Harishchandra (1913) - and women in Hindi cinema have come a long way since then. Mother Maiden Mistress documents that journey: from a time in which cinema was considered a profession beneath the dignity of 'respectable' women to an era when women actors are icons and idols. Bhawana Somaaya, Jigna Kothari and Supriya Madangarli sift through six decades of history, bringing to life the women that peopled cinema and the popular imagination, and shaped fashion and culture. Contemporary readers will also find here a nuanced historical perspective - of the social milieu of the time, of the nation and of Hindi cinema itself. Also riveting are the first-person narratives of a leading actress from each decade - Waheeda Rehman, Asha Parekh, Hema Malini, Shabana Azmi, Madhuri Dixit and Rani Mukerji - all close-up examinations of how some of the iconic characters of Hindi cinema came to be. At once a guide, an archive and a cracking good read, the book records and reviews the woman in Hindi cinema - the mythical, the Sati-Savitri, the rebel, the avant-garde and the contemporary. In a journey through six decades of cinema, seemingly, the more things have changed, the more they have remained the same.